Rockets notes: Landry becoming super sub

Published 6:00 am, Monday, December 7, 2009

Super sub

The difference, Carl Landry said, has been before he has the ball. Landry topped 20 points in three of the four games of the Rockets' road trip. With nine 20-point games this season, he is second only to New York's Al Harrington in 20-point games off the bench this season, but he said the improvement came before the games.

“The coaching staff and the front office put confidence in me, telling me to stay aggressive,” Landry said. “I'm not necessarily looking to score every time, but just having the offense ran through me, this game if players have confidence, they feel they can do anything. My confidence is at a high right now. Hopefully, it can stay through the rest of the season.”

Scola finds his shots

Luis Scola was able to play without the protective goggles one game ahead of schedule, with the gash on his right eyelid healing enough to play without the protection on his eyes. He scored 21 points, more than in the two games with the goggles combined, but did not want to blame the goggles or the injury for any struggles.

“I feel better,” he said. “I don't like to make excuses. I cannot put on the goggles anything. I was missing shots the last two games. I made them (Saturday).”

Hard pill to swallow

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As much as the Rockets lamented the near miss of a loss in the final seconds to the Trail Blazers, they knew they were that close to sweeping a four-game road trip after consecutive home losses, a victory that would have given them their longest winning streak of the season.

“It's tough, especially with a game like that, when it comes down to the wire,” Trevor Ariza said. “Guys played so hard to win. When you don't get it done in the end, it's real tough.”